Jury Duty
by whocares1313
Summary: All-human. Max and the flock have never met. They all, plus a few others from the books, get called in for Jury Duty on the biggest case of the century. But, with what these people are capable of, will there be more drama out of the court house?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey… I've had this idea for a while but never got around to writing it, so… yeah. I need to write a story other than Maximum Ride so I don't look totally obsessed with it. (7 stories, all about Maximum Ride!) But then again, I was looking around fanfiction and found a guy who wrote 70 stories, all for Foster Home for Imaginary Friends.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride**

**Claimer- I do own this plot line and idea.**

Max POV

I watched the news as they talked about 'the Biggest Case ever'. According to the channel 7, Mary 'the Director' Lenovo was being charged for crimes against humanity. She supposedly committed Crimes Against Humanity, leading experimenting on embryos and infants.

Mary Lenovo was the top boss at an experimentation facility that combined human DNA with the DNA of other creatures like cats and wolves.

The TV said that choosing the jury was currently in progress, and the letters were being sent out. When they said letters it reminded me that I had to go downstairs and check if I had any mail.

I went to the first floor of my apartment and walked to the mail area. I pulled out the key to my box and opened it. There was a letter from my mom, and some other stuff I didn't know what it was. Probably junk mail.

I threw the mail on the kitchen table and opened the letter from my mom.

_Hi Max,_

_How is life since you finished college? Do you have a job yet? Have you heard about Mary Lenovo's case? I wonder what kind of messed up person experiments on children…_

_Oh, and here's fifty bucks for something fun._

_XOXO Mom_

I smiled and shook my head. Mom always knew how to cheer me up.

_Mom,_

_Hey, since you know my address you know I have an apartment. Life's okay. No, I don't have a job yet, but I've applied for a few. Yeah, I was just watching the news about the case, and I don't know either. And thanks for the money._

_Love Ya!  
>-Max<em>

_p.s. how's Ella?_

I opened the next letter. It looked strangely official for a bill or junk mail.

_Maximum Ride,_

_You have been summoned for jury duty on August 30__th__, 2011 on the Mary Lenovo case. Report to La Paz County courthouse in Arizona, this is required. Do not discuss this case and do not tell anyone you are on the jury. You must be there by 4 pm sharp._

_-The United States Government._

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I did NOT want to attend jury duty. But then, it was required. I used the fifty bucks my mom gave me, and bought a Visa gift card at Wal-Mart, and booked a train ticket from here (Denver, Colorado) to Arizona.

++++one week later++++

I took my suitcase and boarded the train; glad I splurged a little and bought a window seat. The train was so freaking small! I was already feeling my claustrophobia creeping up on me. The train was going to Phoenix, and then I would take a bus to La Paz County.

I got off the train and boarded the bus, sitting next to a preppy girl. She started talking to me at a mile a minute. "Hi I'm Monique but you can call me Nudge why are you going to La Paz I can't tell you why I am but what about you?"

I just yelled, "Stranger danger!" and moved a few seats back to sit next to this old guy wearing a tuxedo.

++++an appropriate amount of time later++++

We arrived at our stop and I think Nudge was following me, because she was walking the exact same streets as me to get to the courthouse. I walked in and recognized this sea of depression and boredom: the jury pull.

I sat between a goth guy and a really pale guy. Some guy walked in. "We have selected forty of you to be eligible for the jury in the court case of Mary Lenovo. We will interview each one of you.

"Glen Bishop, age thirty seven" the man called. A guy who I guessed was Glen walked up. We all had to give reasons why we couldn't be a part of the jury. Glen was immediately excused because they checked it out and Mary was a close friend of his parents.

"Nick Benevento, age twenty five" the man said, and the gothic guy stood up. He just shrugged at all the questions the man asked, apparently not caring whether he had to stay or not.

I was getting so bored, the guy kept calling names. Monique/Nudge was apparently supposed to be here, and wasn't actually stalking me. She sat in the same place as that gothic Nick guy. The pale guy who was sitting next to me also was over there. Apparently his name was Igor. All three of them were within a two year radius of my age.

"Maximum Ride, age twenty four" he said, and I walked over. "What is your income situation currently?"

"Unemployed," I answered.

"Is there any reason we shouldn't put you on the jury?"

I tried to think of something fast. I thought about saying I was a pole dancer, but I had just said I was unemployed. "No, I guess not."

He waved me over to where Nudge and others sat. I decided to sit next to Nudge since at least I talked to her before.

++++a few long hours pass++++

The guy had decided, out of the twenty of us over here, which would be on the jury for the case.

"Okay, and the jury will consist of Nick Benevento, Jeb Batchelder, Ariel Thompson, Maximum Ride, Igor Barns **(I made his name Igor because all of the other nicknames have a meaning, but Iggy's doesn't and Igor is actually a name and Iggy could easily be a nickname for it)**, Dylan Ferrell, Monique Harvey, Lissa Ridley, Zephyr Jones, Hans Gunter Hagen, Samuel Webster, and Brigid Dwyer."

Everyone whose name was called stood up, and the people who hadn't gotten called cheered, glad to be off the hook.

I flipped them off as they walked out and scowled at the ground.

The guy whose name I still don't know looked at us. "You are not free to speak of the case, but we would like you all to get to know each other so there are no problems on court day."

In the end of the whole socializing thing, I had a pretty good idea on what kind of person each person was.

Jeb seemed like one of those guys to be wary of, like he's always working a different angle.

Hansy seemed like he was used to being in control and was like Jeb.

Nick was quiet and tried to fade into the background a lot. He also liked being called Fang.

Igor was strange but fun, and he and I had hit it off. He liked to be called Iggy. I wondered what was up with all of the weird names. But if I had to choose Iggy or Igor, it would be Iggy every time.

Monique was loud and proud, but also sweet. Like she told me, she liked being called Nudge.

Zephyr was two years younger than me and was nice. He liked to be called the Gasman or Gazzy.

Ariel was the same age as Gazzy. She was so adorable, but mature looking. Something told me she would be the one basically making the decision, because who could say no to a face like that… unless she said innocent. She liked to be called Angel.

Lissa was annoying. That's all I'm going to say.

Sam seemed nice enough, but not the type of person I'd want to hang out with a lot.

Dylan was a little clingy for my taste, and I think he already had a crush on me.

Brigid was following Fang around like a puppy dog, even though she was six years older. She was… well… a bimbo.

And you know who I am.

_I think the trial isn't going to be the only drama in this group…_

**This story will probably be only around five chapters, just something I thought up. Tell me, do you want Eggy or Niggy? If you want Eggy, do you want Nazzy?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I will be updating this every Sunday, unless I am busy.**

**Disclaimer- I wonder if JP searches for subliminal messages in songs when he's bored… **

**Claimer- I do own this story idea and plot line**

Max POV

We were all being paid for and were staying in a three star hotel **(I don't really know if they actually do that but…)** until the trial… which was today. I felt the butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I realized that part of the verdict was dependent on me.

I put on my only business suit, grey and professional looking, and scowled when I realized this trial was more than one day, and I would be wearing this over and over. Nudge was getting ready next to me as she blathered on about random stuff. We had all been assigned roommates.

I put my hair in a bun that hurt my head and grimaced at how un-Max-like I looked.** (Outfit and hair on profile)**

"Wow Max, you haven't _not _had your bangs in your face this whole trip," she said sarcastically, and I smiled, I was starting to rub off on her.

"Whatever," I said, pretending it didn't matter.

We left the room and went down to the lobby to meet up with Angel. She didn't have a roommate because she was rich; another upside to her being rich was she had a car. Angel was our ride to the courthouse.

We drove and Angel turned on So Yesterday by Hillary Duff. I shrugged; at least it wasn't some Justin Bieber crap or something. That was exactly what I would I would have expected from a person like Angel.

Unfortunately, the next song that came on was Never Say Never by, you guessed it, Justin Bieber. I did like the Jayden Smith part though, so it could have been worse. Nudge screeched out the rap though, so it could have been better, but still, at least it wasn't just Justin the whole song.

We went through and ruined a little more pop culture for me before we got to the courthouse. We pulled up and Lissa, Brigid, Jeb, and Hansy were already there. We all got coffee and talked.

Igor/Iggy also had money, so he got his own room, and was bringing Zephyr/Gazzy and Nick/Fang. They pulled up and looked like James Bond triplets or something. They were all wearing Tuxedos and bowties. I was just waiting for one of them to pull out a cell phone that shot lasers. **(Outfits on profile)**

They stopped when they saw us, and looked confused. "I thought we were supposed to dress formal," Iggy said.

"We were supposed to dress business formal," I told them. Iggy and Gazzy blushed while Fang rolled his eyes and hit Iggy's arm. No doubt the suits were his.

"We are dressed… formal," Iggy stated dejectedly.

"No," Nudge said, laughing, "y'all are dressed like three James Bonds, just not as sexy."

I laughed and high-fived her. "Nice one."

"We are extremely sexy," Fang said, popping his collar.

"So you think Gazzy and Iggy are sexy too?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

Fang scowled at me.

"Of course he thinks we're sexy," Gazzy said.

Fang hit Gazzy too, and then Gazzy flicked his ear, so Fang pushed Gazzy off the curb. Gazzy stood up and brushed off his suit, giving Fang a death glare.

Sam and Dylan rolled up in a taxi playing Roll Up by Wiz Khalifa with the bass turned up so high the whole courthouse shook (we were standing in the back until court time).

They came out wearing some simple button downs and slacks. I pointed to them. "That is how you _should have _dressed."

Dylan walked up and put his arm on my shoulders. "So you like my ensemble?" he asked.

I brushed his arm off. "I never said that."

"But you said-"

"I said, 'that is how you should have dressed,' I never said I liked it, at least their outfits amuse me."

I'm pretty sure Dylan was crying on the inside. He walked away to probably sulk in Fang's emo corner.

Iggy walked up and slung his arm over my shoulder, mocking Dylan. "So," he said in the same tone as Dylan, "amusing is a good thing?"

I smiled and slapped his arm. Iggy rubbed it playfully. Gazzy was talking to Nudge, and Brigid and Lissa were flirting with Fang. Sam was staring at me and Jeb and Hans were talking about science stuff.

Nudge's watch went off, and we all made our way around the building for the trial. There was a bunch of stupid paparazzi surrounding the door.

"What do you think the verdict will be?" one of them shouted to Angel.

"I'm not allowed to discuss the case!" she yelled back.

"Come on!" another one exclaimed.

I shouted some pretty colorful words at them and they cleared the way to let us in. Everyone was staring at me. I smirked at them. "That's the way to get 'r done."

We sat in our assigned seats (what are we, in kindergarten?) and I realized I was between Dylan and Sam. I grimaced. They had total crushes on me, and it was kind of sickening me.

All of the seats were filled behind us, and I felt my claustrophobia start to act up. I felt sweat on my forehead and closed my eyes, doing what my childhood therapist would tell me to do when I was younger. I tuned every sense out and went to my happy place.

I was frolicking through a field of bubblegum trees and cotton candy flowers. I heard rustling in the potato chip leaves (don't judge my personal heaven, I'm a fattie OK?) and Dylan came out, dressed in a prince costume. I knew it was a costume because there was no way Dylan would ever be prince of anything, except maybe stupid-topia.

"Get out of here Dylan!" I yelled, and came out of my dream world. Dylan had just yanked his hand off my thigh. "What the hel-k!" I yelled, and I punched him in the face.

Everything got quiet and Mary Lenovo was marched in in an orange prison jumpsuit. Her lawyer walked in, and I recognized her from the commercials: Maya Knowles. She was in a professional outfit much like mine, but with pants instead of a skirt, and it was black and not grey.

They sat at their podium thing (so what if I know nothing about court?), and the government representative and his lawyer walked in. The government lawyer was John Abate.

Judge Roland Ter Bortcht walked in and sat at his podium, banging his gavel on the gavel-banging-area. "Order in the court," he exclaimed. Any leftover chatter faded into silence.

"Would the defendant please stand?" Bortcht asked. Mary and Maya stood. "Would they plaintiff stand?" The government guy and John Abate stood. "Would the jury rise?" We all stood. "Be seated," he said, and we all sat back down. "Let's get the ball rolling."

**Okay, I asked and none of my friends know a cure for Bieber fever (just caught it yesterday). Do any of you know one, like an injection or something?**

**Also, can you recommend some good fanfictions for me to check out, because most of the ones I've subscribed to are ending or not being updated, so I need some new material to read. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this is late, I was in Ocean City for the weekend. The boardwalk was great for those of you who don't want to know. And also I started school today. P.S. was anyone else in the earthquake? It was FUN, but it really disappointed me. It was only, like, 20 seconds long, I was expecting this long, dragged out thing, but oh well…**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride**

**Claimer- I do own this plot and idea**

Fang POV

The judge walked in and called order in the court. I shifted in my seat between psyco Dylan and head-juror Jeb. I sighed as the bailiff swore in the plaintiff and the defendant. This court case was so boring.

Well, not the case, but the actual court session.

I laughed as Dylan tried to disappear into his chair. He was still embarrassed about the whole 'go away Dylan' thing. Max could be pretty cool sometimes, but that was definitely not on purpose.

Still, she was cool enough.

I twitched in my James Bond suit, surprised I let Iggy talk me into wearing this. It was constricting me, cutting off my circulation (okay, so maybe it wasn't, but I'm allergic to tight clothes). I undid the bowtie a little, and glanced back up.

There was a police officer at the witness stand, and he was testifying about how he was there when they rounded up the people working at the School she seemed to be in charge of all of them.

The day passed slowly, with many objections, orders in the courts, and more objections. I sighed as I flopped down on my mattress after the long day.

Gazzy farted loudly. "Dude, I don't know whether to congratulate you or gag."

He shrugged. "You should probably do both," he said, as the stink really hit me, and as he said, I did gag.

After I was done choking on Gazzy's butt fumes, I patted him on the back. "Nice job, man."

Gazzy grinned. "Hey, so you want to hang out with the other guys tonight?"

I looked at him. "What other guys?"

"Oh, you know, Angel, Max, Iggy, Nudge, Brigid, Sam, Lissa, and Dylan," Gazzy said, but he said the 'and Dylan' part really fast. He knew I hated Dylan, I didn't particularly like Sam either, but I could not _stand _Dylan. Sam, he was a flirt. Dylan was a lovesick puppy with nothing better to do than stalk Max.

Like a poem from an online comedy thing I watch (Demyx Time), I will quote Demyx's poem to Zexion in episode 12.

_I love it when Zexion talks  
>I love it when Zexion walks<br>I love it when Zexion drinks  
>I love it when Zexion blinks<br>I love the size of Zexions feet  
>I love standing outside of Zexions window on 42 New Campbell Street<br>I love STALKING Zexion to the mall  
>And I love collecting little hairs from Zexions head, and curling them into little Zexion hairballs<em>

Yep, that was probably what was going on in Dylan's head, except Max instead of Zexion, and she probably doesn't live on 42 New Campbell Street.

I decided to go to the thing anyway, just for something to do. We decided to go mini golfing. We had to split into two groups, and it was pathetic how Sam and Dylan clung to Max, and Lissa and Brigid clung to me. At least Lissa and Brigid were hot (can't say I would know about Sam and Dylan, I try (and succeed) not to think of boys in that way).

I took Nudge and Gazzy into my group, and Max got Iggy and Angel. Our group went first, and just to tick off the other group, I took forever in my put. I licked my finger and felt for any wind, then put up a blade of grass. I also wiggled my hips while getting ready to swing (which Brigid and Lissa swooned over), until I suddenly decided I was left handed and had to do that all over again on the other side.

This went on until Max shouted, "it's only mini golf! Get your butt in gear!"

I shrugged, and swung, even though it was the wrong side for me, I got a hole in one. I heard Max huff and the rest of my group finished up the hole and we eventually finished. We compared the cards and Nudge won in the end. I scowled and crossed my arms, demanding for a recount.

Gazzy shook his head at me. "You tabulated that score card Fang."

"But I'm stupid! There's no way I could have gotten that right!"

Needless to say, they didn't give me my recount. The final calculations were Nudge in first, then Iggy, Max after, then Gazzy, me, Lissa, Angel, Sam, Brigid, and Dylan. I smiled happily when we realized Dylan came in last. He just puffed out his chest and said mini golf didn't matter in the real world.

We walked over to the ice cream parlor across the street, and I ended up ditching Lissa and Brigid to sit with Iggy. Max, Dylan, and Sam were on the other side of the booth. I could also hear Angel making gag noises from the booth behind me. She was sitting next to Lissa and Brigid, who were probably gushing about me, and across from Gazzy and Nudge, who were probably staring into each other's eyes (they had hit it off, sitting next to each other at the trial).

Dylan and Sam were talking to Max, and she was grunting her answers. Any other guy would have taken the hint and left her alone, but these two had to be complete boneheads and keep scootching closer to her. She mouthed 'help me' at me. I rolled my eyes.

'Not until I get my recount.'

Our ice cream out and I found it funny, Max ordered a banana split with the works while the rest of us just ordered vanilla cones dipped in chocolate. I saw Max get a glint in her eye and she started shoveling the banana split into her wide-open mouth. Dylan and Sam backed off a little and her eyes flashed again. 'Mission accomplished.'

++++ice cream time++++

We were walking out of the restaurant and Lissa grabbed my shirt and pulled me around the corner. She smashed her mouth to mine. I figured that she was a pretty good kisser, and why waste a good make out session.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer, tilting my head so we could kiss better.

There was laughing coming from the corner. Max was standing there, doubled over. "Get a room," she said between laughs.

Lissa glared. "We will next time," she said in a snarky way.

_Next time? Seriously? You're not that good of a kisser!_

That's what I was thinking on the inside, but on the outside I just blinked at Max, wrapped my arm around Lissa's waist, and walked her back over to Iggy's car.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, this is late because I got my power knocked out for over 24 hours by Irene. SORRYS! **

**And thanks to Sierra156 who offered to beta this story. Get back to me!**

**Disclaimer- I am not, nor will I ever be, a balding old man. I may get old… heck, I may even bald, but I will still be 100% female, and that makes me different from James Patterson in every conceivable way.**

Fang POV

I woke up the next morning after mini golfing, and groaned. I would have to face Lissa again. She called me three times last night just to say 'no you hang up first'. Every time I did hang up first, she called again and started it over. After the three times, Gazzy threw a pillow at me (I had failed to think to turn the volume down, and decided to just turn the phone off).

Why I gave that freak demon my phone number, I will never know.

I booted up my iPhone and saw that I had five missed calls, all from Lissa except one from Brigid. I called up Brigid to see what she wanted.

"Hey Fang," Brigid said through the phone.

"Hi, um, why did you call me last night?" I asked, more suspiciously than I had hoped.

"Lissa wouldn't shut up about you! She's in the shower now, which is good, because every other moment she has been awake it's been Fang this and Fang that. It's so annoying."

I knew she wanted me to help her, but I didn't know what would stop Lissa from liking me, so I decided to distract her. "So Lissa's in the shower on this fine morning, so is Gazzy. In fact, I can hear him singing Can't Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus. And it's the rockangeles remix. Don't ask why I know that."

Brigid sighed in relief. "Good, I'll just tell Lissa that you can tell the difference between a regular and remixed Miley Cyrus song. That should turn her off enough." I could practically the smirk in her voice as she said that. She hung up the phone and didn't even say goodbye.

"_I can't be I can't be tamed  
>I can't be changed<br>I can't be blamed  
>I can't can't be can't can't be tamed!"<em> Wafted out of the bathroom.

I pounded on the door. "Shut up with the damn Miley Cyrus already! Who Owns My Heart was bad enough!"

I heard him gasp. "LANGUAGE!" he yelled.

"Grow up," I muttered, and pulled on my button up black shirt. Yeah, I learned from yesterday that James Bond suits were not wanted in the court room. Apparently they are a distraction or something… and I thought I looked sexy.

Whatever, even if it wasn't court acceptable, I still looked sexy.

+++court room+++

The Bailiff swore everyone in again and we sat down on the wooden benches. The wooden benches that hurt my butt. The butt-hurty benches.

The prosecution stood and brought the last witness up. It was a middle-aged man. He was sworn in. "Hello," he started, "my name is Benjamin Kagle. I am a government trained spy. We were suspicious of this case since years ago. I was sent to infiltrate 'the School' and send messages back to the government about its experiments. I quickly rose in its ranks, and, to my pleasure, after a year, I was a supervisor, I got to watch some of the experiments. I took voice recordings of Mary, and pictures of some of the experiments. Some dead, some suffering. All of it in the evidence bag."

She glared daggers at him.

The prosecution called Mary Lenovo to the front. "Mary Lenovo, is this, or is this not, you on this recorder?"

He pressed play on an old tape recorder, the kind that held cassettes. A scratchy version, but definitely her voice, played on the tape recorder. "Experiment 220 to the operating room." It cut to another recording of her. "Experiment 220 scheduled for termination." The recordings went on for at least a half an hour. The last thing she said on the tape was, "Experiment 1500 hit its expiration date, please dispose of it."

"Was that, or was that not, you on the tape?" John Abate (the prosecuting lawyer) asked.

"The voice on the tape was not me."

John Abate looked at her as if to say 'really? There is no denying that was you… stupid'. "Your voice sounds the same now as it did on the recording," he said.

Mary crossed her arms. "No comment," she said stubbornly.

They also pulled out a few documents. They had Mary Lenovo's signature on them. John Abate held them up to the court. "She signed off on these! These are papers to kill! To experiment!"

People started murmuring and we could hear dozens of camera snaps start going off instantly. The judge banged his gavel. "Order in the court!" he yelled, and the noise died down.

John Abate pulled out another piece of paper from the bag. "Here are writing samples from Mary Lenovo herself, just two days ago. The signature matches the examples on the legal documents. Any comment Mary."

"I exercise my right to remain silent."

John Abate smiled, a small smile, but I could see it. He knew that he was going to win this case. He pulled out pictures from the evidence bag, and I could now see that it was empty. This court session was almost over.

"The police force and the FBI took pictures during their invasion, once they had everyone in cuffs. We have blown up their size and you can see the experiments and their living conditions."

I shuddered as he exposed the first picture. It was a dead boy who couldn't even be half a year old.

"This is Experiment 1500, from the voice recordings. That recording was made just seconds before the invasion. He had hit his 'expiration date'. As you can see, he is in a dog crate, and was previously living in his own feces. He was only seven weeks old! He was just one of the thousands taken from hospitals across the US. They had doctors planted in the hospitals! The doctors said the babies were dead! They took them from their parents! They-"

"Objection!" Maya yelled.

"Denied," said the judge, and John continued, more calm.

"They were taken from hospitals, from their parents, their parents thought they were dead," he said, shortening his previous outburst. Then, he got a grim look on his face. "But now? Most of them are dead."

He held up a bunch of other pictures, each grimmer than the next, except I couldn't get that one picture of the baby out of my head. He didn't deserve that. None of the kids did.

Judge Ter Bortcht nodded at each picture with a knowing face. I could see non-stop flashes from press cameras each time a new picture was shown. This was a serious case, and all they cared about was 'getting out the news to the general public'. That's what they'd tell people anyway, but it was a load of BS. They really just wanted to make a quick buck.

Judge Ter Bortcht turned to Maya and Mary (who was now back in the seat at her podium). "Does the defendant have anything to say?" he asked.

"No," said Maya.

I saw anger flash in the judges eyes for being referred to so casually, but he shook it off and banged his gavel on the table again. "Jury has 24 hours to come up with a verdict, until then, court adjourned."

We had learned our lesson about trying to get through the large crowds heading out of the courthouse yesterday, and the whole jury waited as everyone clogged the exit. I shook my head as five stupid reporters tried to all get through a door that could only fit two people all at once. Max looked at me and rolled her eyes as if to say 'I know right'. We stared at each other for a few seconds until Dylan coughed awkwardly between us. I shook my head again, putting my brain in gear again.

Eventually everyone cleared out and we made our way through the door, laughing and joking. For some reason, Jeb and Hans were missing though. Oh, well, they were downers anyway.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom in the courthouse and heard whispering around a corner. I pressed myself against the wall and listened closely, hearing Hans, Jeb… and Maya. They were talking about the case and it sounded like they were striking a deal.

I coughed and heard them stop talking. I slunk away from the wall and into the bathroom quickly, standing on a toilet seat and crouching so they couldn't see me.

Jeb and Hans walked in and passed through, not suspecting the closed door. I breathed a sigh of relief as they walked out, and rushed out to tell everyone what I heard, but outside there was only a bored Gazzy and a pissed off Iggy. "What took you so long?" he asked indignantly.

I shrugged, deciding not to tell them after all. It's not like everyone was there anyway, and Jeb and Hans walked out. They looked extra cheery. "Hi guys," Jeb said, smiling widely.

I halfheartedly waved as they walked away.

We walked to Iggy's car and he turned on his iPod, which was hooked up to the radio. We listened to Under The Sea from the Little Mermaid (don't ask, 'cause I don't know) and then the next song started. I shuddered into response to the beginning which sounded like a hip hop song for the first, like, two seconds, until the synthesizer started. THE HORROR!

_Like a mafia_

_For those who don't know me,  
>I can get a bit crazy<br>Have to get my way,yep  
>24 hours a day<br>'cause I'm hot like that_

Iggy and Gazzy were both singing along, just to bug me.__

_Every guy, everywhere  
>just gives me mad attention<br>Like I'm under inspection  
>I always gets a ten,<br>'cause I'm built like that_

I was feeling REALLY uncomfortable.__

_I go through guys like money  
>flyin' out the hands<br>They try to change me  
>but they realize they can't<br>And every tomorrow is a day I never plan  
>If you're gonna be my man understand<em>

Why do Gazzy and Iggy want a man? And Max calls me gay…__

_I can't be tamed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be blamed  
>I can't, can't, I can't, can't be tamed<br>I can't be changed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be, can't, I can't be tamed_

Seriously, isn't this girl, like, a DISNEY CHANNEL star!__

_If there was a question about my intentions,  
>I'll tell ya<br>I'm not here to sell ya  
>Or tell you to go to hell<br>(I'm not a brat like that)  
>I'm like a puzzle<br>but all of my pieces are jagged  
>If you can understand this,<br>we can make some magic,  
>I'm wrong like that<em>

Yes Miley Cyrus (and Gazzy and Iggy) you are wrong like that.__

_I wanna fly,  
>I wanna drive,<br>I wanna go  
>I wanna be a part of something I don't know<br>And if you try to hold me back I might explode  
>Baby, by now you should know<em>

I DO KNOW! STOP SINGING!__

_I can't be tamed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be blamed  
>I can't, can't, I can't, can't be tamed<br>I can't be changed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be, can't, I can't be tamed_

I am feeling so corrupt and disturbed.__

_Well I'm not a trick you play,  
>I'm wired a different way<br>I'm not a mistake,  
>I'm not a fake,<br>It's set in my DNA  
>Don't change me<br>Don't change me  
>Don't change me<br>Don't change me  
>(I can't be tamed)<em>

I am crying on the inside.__

_I wanna fly,  
>I wanna drive,<br>I wanna go  
>I wanna be a part of something I don't know<br>And if you try to hold me back I might explode  
>Baby, by now you should know<em>

Does it bug anyone else that Iggy and Gazzy know EVERY SINGLE word to this song?__

_I can't be tamed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be blamed  
>I can't, can't, I can't, can't be tamed<br>I can't be changed  
>I can't be tamed<br>I can't be, can't, I can't be tamed_

As soon as they sang that last line, Iggy pulled up to the front of the hotel, slowing down considerably. I hopped out of the convertible (the top was off) without even opening the door, and ran all of the way up to my room without even stopping. I kicked my shoes off quickly and curled into a ball under my covers.

I heard Gazzy walk in about five minutes later, and he poked me. He could probably see me shaking like a Chihuahua through the sheets, but I pretended to be asleep.

I could practically hear him roll his eyes before he changed and left the room.

I quickly threw on a black tee shirt, dark wash jeans, and black vans. It felt so good to be out of those dressy clothes. I went down a floor to Max and Nudge's room.

I knocked on the door and Nudge answered. She too was out of her court clothes and she had sweats on. I resisted the urge to hold my head in pain as Can't Be Tamed by Miley coursed through it over and over.

"Nudge, I need to talk to Max," I said urgently.

"What?" she asked, walking to the door.

"I NEED GOOD MUSIC!" I yelled.

She looked at me like I was crazy, but let me in and tossed her iPod Nano fourth generation at me.

I scrolled through her songs and shook when I passed Can't Be Tamed. I finally settled on Awake and Alive by Skillet. I smiled as I drifted back into my musical element.

After it finished, I handed Max her iPod back.

"So, why did you need my iPod?" she asked, looking confused.

"I had Can't Be Tamed stuck in my head on constant repeat. It was aweful-"

Nudge cut in. "I love that song!"

I looked at her for a second, then turned back to Max. "So, why do you have that on your iPod?"

She shrugged. "Phase."

For a second we sat there, just staring at each other, but unlike at the courthouse, Dylan didn't cough awkwardly. I slowly leaned in, totally forgetting about Nudge.

Max and my lips touched, and I felt an extreme spark. I quickly deepened the kiss, and was so into it that I didn't hear the front door open.

"Hey, Nudge, here's your straightener ba- AAHHHH!" said/screamed a familiar voice.

Max and I pulled apart to see Lissa. Max screamed too. Max just sat there, and Lissa stood in the doorway, both looking at each other, both screaming.

Nudge giggled awkwardly and quickly grabbed her straightener out of Lissa's hands, running out the door and closing it.

Lissa lunged at Max and started clawing at her. I never understood why girls got mad at the other girl and not the boy. I mean, it's the boy who was being a total douche (not that I wanted to be beaten up, I couldn't hit back) but still.

Max clawed back and I realized I was watching a cat fight. Since when do 25 year olds act like 15 year olds? We are such a jacked up jury.

They broke apart, breathing heavily. I noticed Lissa had a split lip, a bleeding finger, and a bleeding (possibly broken) nose. Max had a long gash down her arm, and a fake nail embedded in her arm at the bottom of the gash. She winced as she pulled it out and threw it at Lissa.

They both looked at me expectantly, probably wanting me to choose between them. In my head I chose Max, because of that spark, but on the outside I shrugged and walked back to my room.

**Sorry about all of the Can't Be Tamed in this chapter. I was watching the Fred and Claudio episodes on YouTube and Claudio started singing Can't Be Tamed and I looked it up and I have been playing it on repeat for, like, 2 hours. It's weird yet addicting… like Justin Bieber **

**P.S. in the music video, her wings are exactly how expected Fangs to look like (except Fangs would look a little more masculine)**

**P.P.S. that song describes Max perfectly, except the more… skanky parts**

**So basically that song could tie in with Maximum Ride!**

**Yeah… I'm weird**


	5. Chapter 5

**Does anyone know where I could get a copy of 13 the musical when it was on Broadway (I'm willing to pay, do the Broadway people sell copies? P.S. I am not buying off the black market for you people who would suggest it!)**

**THANKS TO MY NEW BETA SIERRA156! YAY!**

**Disclaimer- JP wouldn't be writing on FanFiction, and if he was, it wouldn't be about his own fandom.**

Max POV

Fang was taking forever in the bathroom so Angel, Nudge, and I decided to stop waiting for him and just left. They played some songs in the car that weren't good, but weren't bad enough to complain about, so I'll just not talk about that. The only interesting thing we talked about in the car was the trial and what we were decided (I know *hand slap* 'Bad Max'.) We had all decided guilty. Honestly, it wasn't that hard of a choice.

We got back and I took a quick shower, humming Can't Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus. I don't know why that was what I hummed, it just seemed like the right thing to hum, so don't ask me why (well, it's not like you could ask me, you don't have my contact information, but still…).

I put on an oversized shirt and some sweat capris. Nudge heard a knock at the door and she answered, I started brushing my hair. "Hi Fang," she said. I put down the brush.

"Hi, is Max here?" Fang asked.

I suddenly felt self-conscious in my sweats, but brushed it off and put on a smile. I walked to the door. "What?"

"I NEED GOOD MUSIC!" he yelled. I felt a confused look come to my face, but shrugged and tossed him my blue iPod.

He shivered as he passed through the C's in my songs, and I wondered why, but decided Fang was a 'complex' person. Eventually he settled on Awake and Alive by Skillet after he passed through all of my songs and scrolled back up to the top.

I blushed when he smiled, because his smile was so cute. I saw Nudge flash a suggestive look at me as I sat down next to Fang.

Fang gave me back my iPod after he was finished listening to Awake and Alive.

I looked in his eyes. "So why'd you need my iPod?" I asked.

He looked terrified. "I had Can't Be Tamed stuck in my head on constant repeat. It was awful-"

"I love this song!" Nudge yelled for the heavens to hear.

Fang looked at Nudge for a short second, before turning back to me. "So why'd you have that on your iPod?"

"Phase," I said, shrugging.

We had a moment like at the courthouse, just looking in each other's eyes. Except, you know, there was no annoying Dylan being, well, annoying and ruining the moment.

Fang leaned in and kissed me, and I felt a spark unlike with any other guy I had kissed. We tilted our heads, trying to get closer. I heard the door open, but decided to stay in the moment… that is, until I heard, "hey Nudge, here's your straightener ba-AAHHHH!"

I pulled apart from Fang and remembered Lissa thought she was going out with him. And she was standing in the doorway.

Great.

I screamed back, not knowing what else to do. She stood there, and I sat there, just screaming. Nudge looked scared and ran out of the room, grabbing her straightener out of Lissa's hands on her way out.

Lissa lunged at me and I pulled back my fist and punched her in the face, grimacing when I heard her nose crack. I also punched in the mouth. But then I felt a sharp pain in my arm.

We pulled apart, bleeding and panting. I saw her nose gushing and her lip was split. Then I looked at my arm. There was a long gash in it with a fake nail caught in the end of it. I frowned as I pulled it out, ignoring the extreme pain, and threw the nail at Lissa after it was all of the way out.

We both looked at Fang, demanding him to choose with our eyes. He just shrugged and walked out.

Lissa turned to me. "This is all YOUR fault!" she screamed.

"Uh, excuse me, but Fang kissed me, I didn't kiss him. I don't see why you didn't attack _him_. I just acted in self-defense."

"I don't care! Fang was mine!" she yelled.

"Get out of my room!" I pushed her out of the room and closed the door, locking it.

I needed _another_ shower. I scowled as I turned on the hot water and got in. I didn't even wash myself, just let the blood run off with the water as I curled into a little ball and cried out my frustrations.

After the shower, I decided to get back at Fang for being a jerk. I dug through my limited wardrobe and decided to 'borrow' one of Nudge's outfits. I put on a black cami and jean short shorts with pink flip flops.

I walked to Dylan and Sam's room and Dylan answered. Perfect. He said Sam was out with some girl he met at the mall. Once again, perfect.

"Hey Dylan," I said, and walked in.

"Hey Max, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," I said in a flirty way that probably didn't sound very flirty. I didn't have very much experience in that area of dating and probably sounded more constipated than anything else. I hate life.

He seemed to fall for it though and smiled at me, showing off his pure white teeth.

I let out a fake cough that sounded real. "Hey, Dyl, can you get me a soda?"

"Sure, there's a machine down the hallway," he said, getting up and walking out the door, looking disappointed.

I picked his phone up off his bedside table and sent out a fast text to Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang (we had all exchanged phone numbers).

_Guy's night. My room. Five minutes._

Gazzy and Iggy both texted back the same thing almost immediately after I sent the message.

_OK_

Fang texted back a few seconds later.

_Whatever_

I deleted the messages as fast as possible and was setting the phone back down as Dylan walked in. I was still hunched over the table and pretended to be picking up the remote. To complete the act, I turned on tru tv. Worlds Dumbest was on and I smiled in satisfaction.

Dylan looked at me apologetically. "Sorry it took so long, the machine wouldn't take my dollar a bunch of times."

"It's fine," I said. _Thank God it wouldn't take your dollar._

He handed my coke and I popped it open, swallowing almost ¼ in the first gulp. "So why'd you come here?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said, running my fingernail up and down his arm. I had to stop myself from shaking when I remembered what Lissa's fingernail did to _my_ arm.

He leaned in for the kiss and I checked the clock before our lips met. One minute until the boys would get here. I turned it into a full on make out session for my own amusement, even though there was no spark. I was straddling him on the bed with my hands on either side of his head and you could tell he was enjoying it.

The door opened, and like me and Fang with Lissa, I could tell that even though I noticed, Dylan didn't. I fell on Dylan when I heard the boys walk in and grabbed his head, making his mouth even more crushed against mine. I slipped my tongue in his mouth and heard him groan.

Iggy cleared his throat and I pretended to act surprised as I turned around. "Crap!" I yelled convincingly.

"This IS crap," Fang said with his arms crossed.

"Jealous?" Dylan asked him.

"Not with skanks like that."

"Excuse me!" I yelled at him.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Well, I was just kissing you, like, half an hour ago, and now you're making out with Dylan."

"What?" Dylan asked, sounding flabbergasted.

"Yep Dylan, Max and I were just making out."

I looked at Fang. "We did kiss, but it meant nothing."

I saw Gazzy and Iggy start to inch their way towards the door.

Fang glared at me. "Maybe it didn't mean anything to you," he said with no emotion.

"Well I know it didn't mean anything to _you_. When Lissa and I needed an answer, you walked away!"

"I was going to pick-… Did you invite us here just to rub this in my face?"

I asked, "You were going to pick who?" At the same time Dylan said, "Who invited you?"

"You invited me!" Fang yelled, pulling out his iPhone and showing him the text. Dylan picked up his phone off the bedside table and looked through his messages.

"My phone never sent that," he stated.

Fang and Dylan both looked confused until they turned to me. "Max, did you do this?" Dylan asked.

The guilty look on my face was all they needed. "Really Max? I thought you were better than this! I thought you were different!" Fang yelled before storming out.

I turned to Dylan, hoping he would accept my apology. "Max, just leave," he said sounding heartbroken.

I ran after Fang and caught up with him at the end of the hallway, standing in front of the elevator. "Who'd you pick," I asked vulnerably.

He practically shoved me out of the way and said, "Lissa."

"Fang," I said, near tears.

"I picked you, but really, Max? That stunt you pulled back there wasn't cool."

The elevator doors opened and he walked in. I tried to follow him in but he shook his head 'no'. "I need some time to think," he said, and the doors closed, leaving me out.

I pushed the down button and took the next elevator to the third floor. I walked into the room and Nudge was in there. "Hey Max, isn't that my outfit?"

I just looked at her sadly and grabbed my comfiest sweats out of my dresser. After I changed in the bathroom, I gave Nudge her clothes back.

"What's wrong?" Nudge asked.

I shook my head and curled up in bed.

"Don't be sad," Nudge said, sounding sad herself.

"I need some time to think," I said, quoting Fang. She nodded and left and I closed my eyes, eventually drifting off into a dreamless sleep where all of the problems didn't exist.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so this is the second to last chapter, the next is the epilogue!**

**Disclaimer- James Patterson, I am not (I love Yoda!)**

Max POV

I had sent at least five 'I'm sorry' texts to Fang last night, but he hadn't responded to any of them. I checked my phone again, but still no responses. Groaning, I hit my head repeatedly on the wall.

Nudge came into the room with a McCoffee and some hash browns. "What is wrong with you?" Nudge yelled. She pulled me by my hair away from the wall and laid me face down on the floor in the middle of the room. I just started banging my head on the ground.

Nudge pulled me into a sitting position and sat me in front of the bed. "What. Freaking. Happened?"

"Go away!" I yelled.

"No, tell me what's up," Nudge begged in a whiney voice, giving me the Bambi eyes.

I stood up slowly, and growled in frustration. "I'm an idiot! That's what's wrong!" I turned around and punched the first wall I could see. Unfortunately, it was a brick one. The hotel had one brick wall in every room as 'rustic decoration', but now I realized it was just a way to give me bloody knuckles. I sunk back down to the ground moaning in pain, clutching my hand.

Nudge grabbed my bloodied hand. "You are an idiot! What was that for?" She was already bandaging up my hand.

Fang POV

I walked down to Max's room, hoping to decide whether to forgive her or not when she opened the door, like one of those 'heat of the moment' things. But I stopped when I heard yelling from inside. "I'm an idiot! That's what's wrong!" I heard Max scream, and I heard a thump, followed by a moan.

Next it was Nudge's turn to yell. "You are an idiot! What was that for?"

Max groaned and started telling the story of what happened last night after she ran out of her room with the straightener. I felt my face twist into a scowl involuntarily when she brought up kissing Dylan, and couldn't help the fury I felt all over again.

_I shouldn't be feeling this kind of anger though, Max did that, and that makes her not worth my anger._

_But I left her and Lissa alone. I was being a jerk._

_It doesn't mean she should have made out with Dylan!_

_She was angry! Get over it!_

I made a face; I was arguing with myself. Something is seriously wrong with me. I decided to just go back up to my room and get ready for trial today, I only had a hour left before it started, but the jury had to be half an hour early to decide the verdict.

I tuned out my inner insanity and walked into my room. Gazzy was nowhere to be seen, and I was glad about that, because I just collapsed on my bed and yelled into the mattress. The door opened and I heard Gazzy's footsteps. He walked behind me and tapped my back.

"Uh, dude, what's wrong?"

I just got up and sighed. "Nothing." For some reason, I had the overwhelming urge to write depressing poetry.

I went in the bathroom and put on the same clothes I wore yesterday, and brushed my teeth. Gazzy smiled when I walked out. "Finally! We have to leave!"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me down to the parking garage. We hopped over the doors of the convertible and Iggy sped off, complaining about how we would be late. He turned on some hard rock to set the mood of speeding down the highway.

Except we didn't just rob a bank- we were in button downs and late for jury duty.

Yeah, that really brings down the level of badassery.

We pulled up just in time, and Iggy stopped so we could jump out of the car before he parked it.

Gazzy and I ran into the back room of the courthouse where the jury was meeting. Gazzy panted out, "Sorry we're late."

But we weren't the only ones late- Max, Angel, and Nudge weren't here either.

Jeb sighed, and I felt my muscles tense. I was still suspicious of him. "Thank God you guys are here," he said as Iggy ran through the door too.

He started writing down stuff on the piece of paper he was going to read to the judge. "Okay, so what do you guys think of Lenovo?"

"Guilty," Dylan, Lissa, and Gazzy all said at the same time.

Iggy raised his hand. "Guilty."

"Guilty," Sam and Brigid chorused.

"Guilty," I said.

Jeb nodded his head.

We heard the pounding footsteps of people running coming from the hallway. "Guilty!" Nudge and Angel yelled urgently.

"Guilty," Max said. She glanced at me, but then looked away. I swear I could see a tear in her eye. This was the heat of the moment I was waiting for. I would forgive her.

I was about to walk over to talk to her, but Jeb clapped his hands. "Court time," he said happily.

I groaned as we made our way into the courtroom. It felt so uncomfortable sitting next to Dylan, and I could tell he hated sitting between Max and I. He sat rigid as stone with a scowl on his face. I couldn't blame him.

Everyone walked in and the judge sat at his podium, calling the court to order.

"Order in the court!" he said one last time.

Everyone went quiet, waiting to get the verdict on tape. I don't know why- they knew it would be guilty, that much was obvious. There was a faint shuffling of papers behind us that was the most prominent sound in the courthouse as Jeb stood up. I saw Maya wink at him and he gave an almost imperceptible nod. I bet no one but me noticed, because everyone was awaiting the decision and only suspicious of Mary.

Jeb cleared his throat. "The jury has decided Mary Lenovo is… innocent."

It seemed like everything was in slow motion. Maya and Mary's grins grew, and John Abate and the State representative hung their heads. The judge looked shocked, but knew he couldn't over rule a not guilty decision. The flashes from the cameras went off and blinded us, but we were too surprised to even notice.

Everything suddenly clicked in my mind right before the judge banged his gavel and finalized the decision.

I jumped up. "WHAT THE HELL!" I yelled at Jeb.

The judge quickly pulled back his gavel, just as it was about to hit.

"What?" he asked, forgetting his formal court speak.

"We decided guilty!" Max yelled, standing up too, and all of the jury snapped out of their trance and stood too, yelling at Jeb, except Hans.

I pointed at him. "You were in on this too!" I accused.

And suddenly the whole court was in motion, everyone was screaming and the judge didn't even try to call for order. He just watched everything, looking shocked.

Eventually everyone calmed down, and sat down.

"So what is the jury's decision?" the judge asked, stupefied.

"Guilty!" we all yelled at him, except Jeb and Hans.

"Guilty for kidnapping multiple times, man slaughter multiple times, and murder multiple times, Mary Lenovo is sentenced to death by lethal injection."

I could see Mary gulp as two guards brought her out of the room and back to jail for her execution date, and two more came in, one taking Jeb, and one taking Maya. I knew they were being taken for interference in a federal court case, and I had known Hans wouldn't be taken, because he technically didn't do anything.

They would probably be in jail until their court date, and they deserved it.

"Court adjourned," the judge said, still with the glazed over look in his eyes.

We all walked out together, except for Hans, who hung back, thankfully. The paparazzi practically attacked us as we walked out, and I flipped them off, smirking as they took pictures of the obscene gesture. It would probably be blurred out and on magazines for a week 'jury member with anger issues, did it affect the vote?'

Yep, it did.

We finally fought our way out of the sea of sleazebags and there was a silence so thick you couldn't cut through it with knife. I wanted to scream just to break it, but that would be totally out of character for me, so I just booted up my phone. I had it turned it off since the whole 'Dylan text thing'.

There were five new texts, all from Max.

_I'm so sorry Fang._

I scrolled to the next one.

_Fang? Please answer._

I kept tapping on the next one.

_Fang, I was just angry._

_You were being a jerk too, just thought I'd remind you._

_I felt like I needed to do it, to make you jealous and realize that I was the one._

I grinned at the last one and pressed reply.

_I did pick you; I don't know why I walked away._

I sent it, and saw Max look confused at the vibrating in her pocket. She flipped open her phone and read my text. Her face lit up.

I walked to her and brought my lips to hers, softly and sweetly.

When we pulled away, Lissa and Brigid were gone, and Dylan was looking at me. He nodded, as if to say, 'it's what's best anyway.'

I flashed him a quick smile and him and Sam left too. Max's lips and mine met again.

We eventually pulled apart and Iggy was quick to start talking before we kissed again. "Okay, ice cream on me."

Everyone smiled and we split off into different groups. Max and I sat in the back of Iggy's car, while Gazzy and Nudge rode in Angel's. We met up at the Hershey's ice cream place a few streets away, and all ordered.

We sat at the table talking for hours (well, I listened), and it just felt… right.

**Okay, just the epilogue is left now and p.s. I am sorry to anyone who lost a loved one ten years ago today. **


	7. Chapter 7

**ATTENTION JURY DUTY READERS:**

**I am having some serious issues right now and can't really write a bright happy ending at this point in time, so I hope you will forgive me. Unless, of course, you want a dark, almost tragic ending. That's okay with me too.**

**The new chapter will most likely be up by Wednesday or Thursday, and I will replace this authors note with it.**

**I am seriously trying on this really, but I've only cranked out, like, two paragraphs (before I put chapters... oops...) in about an hour. It's like I have a block on the last chapter. My life is really sucking too, my highschool is jacked up, my mom's bipolar, my brother's an instigator that likes to set her off and ruin my stuff, my dad's too calm for his own good, so when he snaps, bad things happen, and I'm just the lonely lost person trying to stay out of my families way but just keeps getting sucked back in by someone.**

**And so this counts as me writing, I will show you a Tonka I wrote in reading class:**

Darkness around me  
>No one notices or cares<br>I am here alone  
>Does anyone hear me scream?<br>The night will eat me alive

**I wrote that in there when she told us to write Tonkas, and it just flowed out, but I didn't actually turn it in, because she would send me to the school psychologist or something.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I absolutely HATE HIGH SCHOOL. I swear, that has been the worst thing in my life so far, and my life has definitely not been the greatest. I want to go back in time and maim the person who created high school so he never would have invented high school.**

**Disclaimer- this is my last disclaimer for this story! :'( Anyway, my disclaimer is that I bet James Patterson has finished high school (I hope he has…)**

Max POV

I looked at Iggy and Ella across the countertop in my mom's kitchen. Iggy had his arm around Ella, and she was feeding him grapes as they watched the tiny TV we had by the stove. It was sickening, yet cute. They had really hit it off since our little group had come here. Mom had offered since she knew we had formed our 'flock', and wanted to spend more time together.

I smiled as Fang caught my eye from across the room, and walked over to him, sitting in the booth we had gotten from a 50's restaurant when it was about to be demolished. It was my favorite thing in the whole house, and I felt a wave of the homesickness I would feel when I went back to Colorado. The red pleather sunk beneath me and I leaned into Fang.

He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"Aww!" I heard Nudge screech as she walked into the kitchen with Gazzy and saw Fang and I. I blushed and tried to turn away, but Fang just pulled me in closer toward him. His warmth made me feel just as at home as the 50's booth, and it surprised me. I snuggled closer to him and Nudge screeched again. Gazzy stuck a finger in his right ear.

"Gosh, Nudge, you're going to make me go freakin' deaf!"

Nudge just giggled and intertwined her hand with Gazzy's. "Aww!" I screeched mockingly. Nudge stuck her tongue out at me, and I stuck mine out at her too.

"You know what? Shut up," Nudge muttered to my smirking face.

"Whatever you say."

Fang and I stood up, went outside, and sat on the chairs of the deck, holding hands. "So what now?" I asked.

"What?" Fang wondered aloud, confused about what I had asked.

"In a week we'll be off again, I'll be in Colorado and you'll be in… where will you be?"

"Nebraska," Fang sighed.

"Well. We can still see each other on weekends; Nebraska and Colorado are right next to each other, right? And… um, let's just see what happens."

Fang nodded his head and sighed again, and I burrowed my head into his chest, feeling his warmth wrap around me like a blanket.

The darkness came faster than I would have thought, and it was soon too cold to stay outside, even with Fang for warmth. We went intside and sat on the couch, and Fang pulled a comforter over us. Iggy, Ella, Gazzy, and Nudge were already watching Vampires Suck, and I was completely lost. (Give me a break! I never even read Twilight!)

I eventually just dozed off on Fang.

Fang POV

I started stroking Max's hair gently when she fell asleep, admiring her natural beauty. She was always closed off when she was awake, but asleep, her face showed everything she thought and felt. Her nose wrinkled and I wondered what she was thinking about, what she was dreaming.

The movie ended and I couldn't help but chuckle at the girl who hit Edwart over the head with a shovel. Max stirred and I froze, hoping she would stay asleep. She just rolled so she was face down on my stomach and started snoring.

I lifted Max up, cradling her like a baby, and carried her into the room she was sharing with Ella. Laying her down on the cot that had been placed in there last-minute for Max's arrival, I frowned as I remembered what she had said earlier about us going back to real life next week, having worries flood my thoughts.

_What if she meets someone else? What if we drift apart? What if the almost long-distance relationship ruins us?_

I had only known Max for a little over a week, but I had really gotten to know her in and out of the courtroom, and she was really cool.

I let my lips linger on her forehead, putting all of my mushy feelings I couldn't express with words into the simple kiss when her eyes fluttered open. "Fang?" Max whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Hi," she said smiling.

I grinned back. "Hi."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing much, what's going on with you?"

"Oh, I'm just really tired."

I stood up. "Well then sleep," I said affectionately, and slowly backed out of her room. She was asleep again before I could even close the door.

++++ 6 days later ++++

Nudge POV

We all sat by the fire (probably closer than we should) because of the cold night air. I shivered slightly ad Gazzy wrapped his arms around me. I kissed his neck and felt him tense up. It made me feel so good that I had this much power over him. Well, until we all left paradise…

Gazzy POV

I saw Nudge shiver out of the corner of my eye and pulled her into a big hug. She started kissing my neck and I froze in pleasure, trying to enjoy it while it lasted. We had decided to try a long-distance relationship (I lived in Oklahoma and she lived in Nebraska), but everyone knows how those work.

Iggy POV

I sat next to Ella, rigid under her mom's watchful eye. One was on us, the other on Max and Fang (creepy, right?). Unfortunately, the one on Max and Fang was more forgiving for their embraces, probably because Max was out of college. I couldn't even hold my girlfriend that I had to leave tomorrow for home without getting a glare. Good thing we only lived about an hour from each other, so things wouldn't be as bad as with the others.

Ella POV

I just wished Iggy would pull me into his embrace one more time before he went back to his family again, but that was impossible. He was too busy being afraid of getting neutered by my mom. Tomorrow he would be off to the other side of Arizona in his luxury car, and our only communication would be Facebook and the occasional times he would drive to University of Arizona (when we would still be watched by my nosey roommate). I hate life.

Angel POV

I sat by Max and Fang (who were making googley eyes at each other) roasting a marshmallow for s'mores. Nudge and Gazzy were happily holding each other, spending as much time as they could just being together before tomorrow. Fang and Max had proceeded to kissing softly… no, wait- now they're making out. Oh, wait, now Dr. M is tearing their bodies apart before this campfire went from PG to X-rated (thank you, Dr. Martinez!). Iggy and Ella were looking annoyed that they couldn't even gently kiss in front of Dr. M, but while she was pulling Max and Fang apart they snuck a quick peck. We were all happy now, but everyone would be heartbroken tomorrow. I mentally thanked myself for not falling in like with any guys on jury duty.

Max POV

I sat on the log, staring at Fang instead of roasting a marshmallow (surprising, right?) when we started to lean in for a kiss. It started out softly, but soon progressed to a full-on make out session. Fang smirked against my lips and I smiled against his. Suddenly I felt a tug on my shirt and at first thought something dirty I'm not going to write, but then got pulled back sharply, and felt a wave of vertigo hit. I closed my eyes and opened them ten seconds later, feeling slightly less dizzy. It was so funny to see my mom glaring at Fang that I almost laughed out loud. I did let out a little giggle though.

Fang POV

Max and I were kissing when I felt her pull away, and I immediately missed her. But when I opened my eyes, I saw Dr. M giving me a death glare, and shuddered in fear. Her death glares were just as bad as Max's, and trust me, Max's made you want to kill yourself so you wouldn't suffer a slow death at her hands. I slouched, trying to make myself, and scooted to the end of the log, away from Max. Dr. Martinez smiled at me evilly as if to say 'that's right, just back away from my daughter', before she walked away. Max glanced at me. 'Wimp'.

++++ 24 hours later ++++

Max POV

I held the picture of Fang and I hugging and smiling at the camera in my stiff hands, feeling silent tears leak out. I mentally scolded myself. _Max! You are video chatting with Fang in ten minutes! Don't make your eyes all puffy!_

Setting down the picture on the shabby coffee table, I dabbed at my eyes with a paper towel and shook out the sadness. Deciding to kill some time before our chat, I checked my email and saw I got a new one from Sorner Physical Therapy, one of the places I applied to for a job. I opened it with shaky hands, hoping for a miracle.

_Maximum Ride, we have reviewed your resume, and have decided that you are perfect for our job opening. You will start your job as Dr. Morgan's assistant in one week from today, and be at work at 7:00 in the morning. - Nancy Clemy, Sorner Physical Therapy_

I checked the day it was sent; six days ago. _I START WORK TOMORROW!_

It was time to get on video chat with Fang, so I pulled up the program and clicked his username (tooth_fairy) to request a chat. He replied yes immediately, and his face filled the screen of the computer.

"Hey Max," he said with a sad look.

"Guess what!" I yelled. In the little box in the corner where I could see myself, I looked totally psycho with happiness.

"What?"

"I got a job!"

"That's great Max," he said, still looking sad.

"What's wrong?"

"I just miss you."

"Remember, in three weeks you're coming up on Saturday. That's not that long, right? We'll be together soon."

Fang cheered up and started talking about his family and how they were coming in three weeks. I smiled and listened, already starting to count down the days to his visit.

**And Jury Duty is over!**


End file.
